TÁNAISTE AND FIANNA Fáil leader Micheál Martin has said he plans to lead his party into the next general election and that he still enjoys politics and being “in the thick of it”. 

“I’m going to lead Fianna Fáil into the next general election,” he told RTÉ’s Áine Lawlor on The Week in Politics. 

The Tánaiste reiterated that intention on RTÉ Radio’s This Week radio programme and refused to comment on speculation that he could make a bid for the position of EU Commissioner. There has also been speculation that he might run for the presidency.

Martin, whose party held its ard fheis this weekend, told Lawlor his focus is on contesting the next election.

“That’s the objective, that’s the ambition. Now it depends on the Irish people. And I’m very conscious that, you know, the people will decide ultimately on these matters,” he said.

Martin said he wanted to continue to “make an impact” in politics and that he enjoys decision making.

“I’m still committed to politics, I still get angry about things, I still get frustrated about things. I want to make a difference and continue to have an impact if I can. And I do enjoy politics,” he said. 

“I like decision making. I like being in the thick of it, so to speak. And if I didn’t, I would walk away.”

The Tánaiste said that being in government “gives you a privilege of making decisions, the capacity to make decisions to affect people’s lives for the better. And also, I like strategically working for the future of the country.”

“I think we’ve a country that has come a long way in 100 years. We’re one of the oldest democracies around, we’re a republic, we have faults, we have flaws, but there’s a lot going for this country, in terms of educational attainment, in terms of economic development and in terms of the multicultural sort of change that has occurred in recent decades.

“We’ve been a part of that. We want to be a part of it into the future.”

When asked on This Week when the next general election would be, Martin said that his preference is for it to be held in the spring of 2025. 

He also refused to definitively rule out going into a coalition with Sinn Féin while criticising the party’s approach to the Israel-Hamas conflict.